"Rule gives too much power to ruling party," AAP's Manish Sisodia on Constitution Amendment Bill to remove corrupt ministers

CHANDIGARH: AAP leader and former Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia called the Bill new Bill, for the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers facing serious criminal charges, as 'positive' but warned it could be misused by agencies like ED and CBI.

He added that AAP, being a party of honest leaders, always supported such strict measures. "The central government is bringing an amendment to the constitution in which they are saying that if any minister, chief minister, or prime minister of any state or even the central government is arrested on charges of corruption, then he should resign within a month or he will be removed. This is a good thing, but there are many possibilities that, just like ED and CBI have been misused, this bill will also be misused in the same way.

Corrupt leaders should fear being removed. The Aam Admi Party is a party of staunchly honest people, so it will always consider such rules to be good...," he said.Sisodia said the Bill grants excessive power to the ruling party and emphasised that if a minister is not found guilty within 30 days, it proves false allegations. He added that those making such false accusations should face jail under the law. "However, this rule gives too much power to a ruling party...

While implementing this rule, it should be noted that if the minister is not found guilty even after 30 days, it implies that false allegations were made against him. So whoever makes the false allegation should go to jail...," he said.On Wednesday, Amit Shah introduced in the Lok Sabha the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, to further amend the Constitution of India and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, apart from the bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The bills were sent to the joint committee of Parliament.The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to remove a central or state minister who is facing allegations of corruption or serious offences and has been detained for at least 30 days. Union minister Amit Shah tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.The proposed bill mandates the removal of any prime minister, chief minister, or minister who is detained for 30 consecutive days on charges punishable with at least five years of imprisonment.

If the arrested leader doesn't resign, their office will automatically fall vacant after 31 days. Interestingly, the bill allows for re-appointment post-release, providing a degree of flexibility. Several Opposition MPs opposed the bills amid huge sloganeering, prompting the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the House yesterday.Opposing the Bills, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I stand to oppose the introduction of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025.

This violates the principle of separation of powers and undermines the right of the people to elect a government. It gives executive agencies a free hand to act as judge and executioner based on flimsy allegations and suspicions.

""This government is hell-bent on creating a Police State. This will be the final nail in the coffin of elected governments. The Indian Constitution is being amended to turn this country into a police state.

The Chief Minister and the Ministers will not be accountable to the people," Owaisi added.Congress MP Manish Tewari claimed that the bill is destructive to the basic structure of the Constitution."The basic structure of the Indian Constitution states that there must be the rule of law, and its foundation is that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This bill makes an investigating officer more powerful than the prime minister of India.

It violates Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty). It distorts parliamentary democracy, which is again part of the basic structure, by displacing the will of the people.

This bill opens the door to political misuse by state machinery whose arbitrary actions have been repeatedly condemned by the Supreme Court. It throws all existing Constitutional safeguards to the winds. This makes the amendment unnecessary and unconstitutional," Tewari said.Congress MP KC Venugopal and home minister Amit Shah engaged in a verbal spat over the "morality" regarding the bills.Venugopal said, "This bill is meant to sabotage the basic principles of the Constitution. BJP members are saying that this bill is to bring morality into politics. Can I ask the Home Minister a question? When he was the Home Minister of Gujarat, he was arrested -- did he uphold morality at that time?"